Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
Ajmal Sultanpuri was a 97-year-old renowned Urdu poet, who passed away recently in his native place Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
The poet was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy in March 2016 for his significant contribution to Urdu poetry. He has written several Urdu poems and some of his noted poems include “Kahan Hai Mera Hindustan” and “Agar Main Tera Shahjahan”. He protested against social discrimination in his early age and his poems are based on communal harmony and multiculturalism of India.

Notes:
As per the 2019 ‘Global Go To Think Tank Index Report’, Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has been placed among the top 30 think tanks globally, at rank 27.
The report is released by the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. The list was topped by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace of the United States. Last year, ORF was placed at 118th position, more than 90 ranks below the current rank. The Raisina Dialogue, jointly organised by ORF is also ranked 7th best conference globally.

Notes:
Nagoba Jatara is a tribal festival celebrated by the Mesaram clan of Gond tribes in Keslapur village of Telangana. It is the second biggest tribal festival, which is celebrated for ten days.
The idol of their God Nagoba is worshipped by the people during the festival. Tribal people who belong to the Mesram clan and reside in other states such as Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh also come and offer prayers at the festival. The festival has concluded recently, the rituals of which was spread over a month.

Notes:
After nearly four years of the referendum voted by the British people for Brexit, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union, at 11.00 p.m on January 31, 2020.
After Britain left the bloc, the European Union has 27 more countries. The process by which the member state leaves the Union has expired and UK has entered the transition period, which will remain till December 31, 2020. The UK will continue to obey the EU laws and courts during the transition period. A new 50-pence coin was launched recently to mark the occasion.

Notes:
Abidali Neemuchwala recently submitted his resignation from the Chief Executive Officer post at the leading Indian Information Technology firm Wipro.
He has served as the CEO and the Group President of the company for four years and Managing Director since July 2019. Abidali has sought resignation citing family commitments. He will continue to serve in the post until a proper successor is appointed by the company’s board of directors. Rishad Premji has recently taken over as the Executive Chairman of Wipro, replacing his father Azim Premji.

Notes:
The wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, Alliance Air recently commenced the direct flight operations from Bhubaneswar to Varanasi. The daily flight operation is started under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik).
This route also marks the 250th route which has been made operational under the RCS – UDAN. This is also the 58th route commenced by Alliance Air, under RCS. Recently, the airline started daily flight operations on the Kolkata-Jharsuguda route. The flight is scheduled to depart Bhubaneswar at 12.15 pm and reach Varanasi at 2.05 pm while the flight from Varanasi will leave at 2.30 pm and reach Bhubaneswar at 4.20 pm.

Notes:
The historic infrared space telescope, called the Spitzer Space Telescope, which was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was recently decommissioned.
The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in 2003 for a two-and-a-half-year mission. But it has been deployed for more than 16 years in various missions to gather valuable data. The decision was made to shut down the Spitzer mission as the space agency begins the mission of the next great infrared space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to be launched before July 2021.

Notes:
In the recent Union Budget 2020-21, the government has estimated the fiscal deficit target for 2020-21 at 3.5 per cent of GDP (Budget Estimate).
The fiscal deficit target for 2019-20 was estimated at 3.3% earlier, which has also been revised to 3.8% of GDP, citing revenue shortage as the reason. Under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the Section 4 (2) permits the government to relax its fiscal deficit target during time of unanticipated stress. This section has been used to increase the previous target to 3.8% in the revised estimates.

Notes:
World Cancer Day is organized by the Union for International Cancer Control and celebrated every year on February 4, from 2000. This year the theme of the campaign is ‘I am and I will’.
The World Cancer Day campaign was first created in the year 2000, and this year’s is the 20th edition of the day. It is observed to create awareness about the disease across the world and to improve individual and government action. The campaign aims at reducing the number of premature deaths from cancer and noncommunicable diseases by one third by 2030.

Notes:
The United Kingdom government has recently donated 20 million pounds, equivalent to nearly $25 million, for developing vaccine to combat the deadly coronavirus.
The country’s investment is set to be given to the global body named CEPI (the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), which aims to develop the vaccine in six to eight months. The World Health Organisation has categorised the coronavirus outbreak as a global health emergency. The death toll in China due to the virus infection has crossed 400. Philippines and Hong Kong also reported their first deaths from the outbreak.